


See Me

by sqacedust



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Continuation of Series 12, F/F, Fluff, Judoon - Freeform, Series 12 spoilers, Yowzah, it’s always missing River hours, it’s missing River hours, spacewives, stormcage, who am I kidding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24773203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sqacedust/pseuds/sqacedust
Summary: WARNING: MAJOR SERIES 12 SPOILERSAn unlikely scenario I devised, taking place after the series 12 finale, in which the Doctor is suddenly abducted from the TARDIS by the Judoon and imprisoned. In this story, she encounters someone she never thought she’d see again.I am very much aware that we likely won’t see River again, and that’s fine, I just miss her and thought that 13 going to prison would be a perfect opportunity for a reunion.Originally posted on WattpadAll characters and settings belong to the BBC
Relationships: The Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 10
Kudos: 88





	1. Happenstance

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, don’t read if you haven’t finished series 12!! Also, disclaimer, I wrote this months ago before I really focused on improving my writing skills so it’s a little bit sloppy. Sorry about that!

No no no no no no no no. 

Prison? Really? The Judoon couldn’t have left her on her TARDIS and waited until after Yaz, Ryan, and Graham knew she was alive? They must be feeling absolutely awful. And she was just on Gallifrey. Which blew up along with the Master. The Master, who told her that she was the Timeless Child. She was the first Time Lord, not just the last. Her planet was gone. Anything she knew about her past was gone. Her oldest friend was gone. Her current friends probably think she’s gone. 

Her thoughts were jumping, trying to organize themselves as the events of the last few hours overwhelmed her, not having sunken in yet. So many forgotten lifetimes-

“Prisoner 827347.”

The Doctor jumped and quickly turned around, making eye contact with a young woman through a slot in her metal cell door. 

The woman spoke in a monotone voice, clearly wanting to move on to the next miserable soul that would be trapped in here for who knows how long. 

“Do not be alarmed. This is simply procedure. I am here to inform you that you have been sentenced to 683 years in this prison beginning today.”

Suddenly, the prison’s alarm began blaring, along with flashing of red lights overhead and the muffled sound of voices running towards another section of the prison. 

“That is all the information I can give you at this time,” she finished, a slightly annoyed look on her face. 

“But what about my TARDIS?! I was taken from-“

“That is all the information I can give you at this time,” the woman repeated before beginning to walk away. 

“But-“

But she was already gone. 

After a quick peek to ensure that the prison worker was really gone, the Doctor began fishing around in her pockets for anything that could help her escape: a sonic screwdriver, psychic paper, sonic sunglasses, a bit of yarn, anything useful, but to no avail. The Judoon must’ve taken them from her in the midst of the teleportation confusion. 

“Augh!!” The Doctor let out a sound of frustration, pacing from one corner of the room to the opposite, trying to come up with a way to escape. The more she paced the more time she lost track of. How long had she been there? Had the TARDIS been taken by the Judoon or was it just left floating in the time vortex? Did her friends make it back to Sheffield? Did-

“Ooo a new one!”

Chills. The Doctor’s body was racked with chills. That voice... It felt like a distant memory that she had long been suppressing but suddenly came bursting forth at the drop of a coin. Her breathing became ragged. 

“Come on dear, don’t be shy.”

The Doctor slowly turned around, unable to believe that this could possibly be happening. It couldn’t be... Their story already ended. There were no chapters left to live. But as the Doctor faced the door, the face peering through the slot proved otherwise. 

“Welcome to Stormcage, love.”

River. Her River. Her wife. 

She tried her hardest not to gasp, or cry, or collapse, but the only thing left for her to do was to stare at River, before her knees gave out and suddenly she was on the floor, trying to collect herself. She felt a few tears slip out, unable to contain her raging emotions. She kept her head down for a few more seconds, blinking furiously to get her eyes to stop watering. She couldn’t, however, get rid of the butterflies in her stomach, a swarm of anguish overwhelming her, making it difficult to breathe, to see, to think. But she could hear. She could hear her beautiful wife standing a few feet away, asking a stranger if she was alright. Because that’s all she was now. A stranger. 

Is this how River felt all those years ago in the Library?

“... Darling? Darling, I think you’re in shock...”

Oh yeah, definitely. 

“Are you alright? I could...”

No. She was not alright. In the last few hours, everything she had ever known about herself got turned on its head, her planet and her oldest friend were gone, she’d been arrested, and her deceased wife, who she thought she would never see again, was standing right in front of her. The Doctor took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control of herself. She wasn’t crying anymore, so that was good, and she was no longer dizzy, well, at least not as dizzy. 

“... I know suddenly being taken prisoner is a lot to take in, but-“

The Doctor stood up and looked River in the eyes, catching her off guard. She stared at her for a long pause, waiting for the dizziness to fade so she could see if this was real or if her brain had just conjured up a vision in the midst of the day’s chaos. 

River cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence. 

“Where are my manners? Doctor River Song.” She held out her hand through the bars for the Doctor to shake. 

The Doctor slowly made her way toward the cell door, grasping her wife’s hand with caution. She let out a slight gasp upon realizing that she was, indeed, real before blurting out a hasty response. 

“I- I- I’m Jane. Jane Smith.”

“Smith?” She smiled fondly. “I’ve got a friend who goes by that name sometimes.”

“It’s quite a common name,” said the Doctor, making up an excuse. 

“Yes, I suppose it is. So what are you in for?”

The Doctor allowed her frustration with the Judoon overpower her anguish for just a moment, letting out one of the emotions she had bottled up over the course of the day. 

“I don’t know! That woman wouldn’t tell me my exact charges, but I had a recent run in with the Judoon. Didn’t end well...”

River chuckled, a sound that made the Doctor’s hearts skip. She had missed that laugh. 

“But the worst part is, they just took me from my TA- transport,” she corrected herself. “I don’t know if they’ve taken it or if they just left it floating in space.”

“Mm, well lucky for you,“ she began fiddling with the cell door’s lock, “they keep records for these kinds of things. If your vehicle is here, then it’ll be in storage lot. If not, the coordinates you were taken from will be on record. And if that’s the case, I happen to have a vortex manipulator you could borrow.” She held up her wrist, showing off the device on her forearm. “I was on my way to disable the anti-teleportation field when I noticed the warden terrorizing the newest inmate.” On that last word, she pulled open the door, finally having undone the lock. “Lucky you,” she winked. 

The Doctor felt heat rising to her cheeks, and then a flash of jealousy. She was jealous... of herself. 

With the opening of the cell door came an even louder blaring of the prison’s alarm, along with the muffled sound of voices coming towards them this time. 

River held out her hand for “Jane” to accept. The Doctor reluctantly took it , tingling at the contact. Suddenly, River pulled her in, their faces mere inches from each other. 

“Follow me, and keep quiet. Do exactly as I do. I know every security camera blindspot in this place,” she smirked. 

Doing as she was told, the Doctor attempted to keep her heart rates steady as the duo sprinted through one hallway, checking around the corner before going into the next, continuing down the next identical corridor and then repeating the process, all while staying out of view of security cameras. 

The alarms finally ceased, but the red flashing lights continued to fill the prison. They could now clearly hear incoming footsteps as they found cover behind a large pillar as they both caught their breath. 

The Doctor couldn’t handle the silence. She needed to speak to her wife- needed to hear her voice. 

“I thought Stormcage was run by some Governor. What are the Judoon doing here?” she whispered. 

“One of the Judoon’s most wanted ended up here before they could get to him. When the Governor wouldn’t had him over to them, the Judoon attacked and took her hostage and claimed this place for themselves. But I have a feeling it won’t last long.” A knowing smirk crossed her face, and the Doctor swore she saw a twinkle in her eye as she said that last part. 

River peered around the column, signaling to the Doctor that it was safe to keep moving. They continued dodging guards and slinking through hallways until River peered around a corner and stopped suddenly, holding her arm out in front of ‘Jane’ before turning back to her. 

“The storage room is just around the corner. I don’t see any Judoon, but they wouldn’t just leave this area unattended. They’re either hiding or keeping guard from the inside.” She turned to the Doctor. “How good are you with computers?”

“I’d say I’m pretty good,” she downplayed. 

“Right, this area is surrounded by cameras. It’d be impossible to hack our way in without being seen so we’ll only have a few minutes before the guards arrive. I’ll keep watch while you hack through the door’s defenses. I’d do it but... let’s be honest, I don’t think you’d last long in a fight if it came to it.”

The Doctor nodded- albeit a bit offended, despite knowing that her wife could fare much better in combat- and the pair walked over to the security panel. River faced the hallways that converged into their current position. 

The Doctor typed away, attempting to bypass the many layers of password protected security measures. She had to admit, the prison had some pretty strong firewalls, even for her. She let her mind wander as she worked, her thoughts betraying her with distractions. River was right there. She could just grab her hand and pull her towards her and tell her who she is and then kiss her. How easy it would be! It’s been so long for her... Who knows how long it’s been for River. Maybe a month? A week? Hell, maybe a few hours since she’d last seen her husband. But she hadn’t seen her wife. Not truly. Oh, how desperately the Doctor wanted to tell her to see her. 

Minutes into the process of hacking the door open, there came the distant sound of footsteps from the hallway to the left. 

“Dammit! We’ve got incoming. How much longer will that take?” whispered River, backing over to the Doctor. 

“Not much longer,” she said, snapping out of her trance. 

“Well you better hurry up, I think there’s even more coming.”

She was right. A another group could be heard coming from the hallway to the right, where they had come from. There goes their escape route... 

Now fully focused, the Doctor typed faster than before, getting the door to start sliding open. She and River slipped through, crouching behind one of the many shelves in the nick of time as eight Judoon ran in, having seen the door finish opening completely. 

River rummaged through the nearest box, pulling out a hand gun, causing the Doctor to scowl disapprovingly. She opened her mouth to say something about it, but was stopped by River putting her finger on the Doctor’s lips, making her blush furiously. 

They watched as the Judoon split up into groups of two, four groups in total, and went their separate ways to search the room. The Doctor and River were well hidden, surrounded by boxes and shelves, but were still exposed. 

“Jane,” whispered River, getting the girl’s attention. She gestured to a corner only a few feet away from them, where a computer panel sat with an adjoining conveyor belt. “It’s the computer that keeps all of the storage records,” she told Jane. 

“Same formation as before?” asked the Doctor. River nodded, and the two crawled their way over, the Doctor almost knocking over a bin or two. 

The Doctor looked over her shoulder to make sure River couldn’t see the screen before typing her information into the search filter. 

Prisoner: The Doctor  
Number: 827347  
Species: unknown  
Age: unknown  
Medical Conditions: high blood pressure  
Sentence: 683 years  
Emergency Contact: none  
Possessions: assorted items located in row R27-S98

“Aha!” she celebrated, using the machine to bring her items to her. The moment the conveyor belt started moving, a series of loud, broken sounds came from it. 

“Shut that thing off!” River whisper-yelled. 

“I’m trying!” replied the Doctor, flying into a frenzy over the computer, hitting buttons at random. Unfortunately for the pair, she couldn’t get it to stop in time, attracting the attention of their predators.

“Sorry!” shouted the Doctor, not wanting to get on her wife’s bad side. 

River sighed, clearly won over by the woman’s adorable tone. 

“It’s alright, dear. It’s been a while since I last had target practice,” she said with a smirk. “You just focus on finding your vehicle.”

The Judoon charged at her, weapons pointed, but were met with blasts from her stun gun. They weren’t very effective though, as the power of the gun barely compared to its hulking targets. 

She had bought the Doctor a few moments to find and commit the coordinates of her TARDIS to memory, and for the box of her possessions to arrive, hastily stuffing them into her pockets while River was distracted. 

“Let’s go!” she yelled, running toward her wife, who charged at a Judoon so hard that he fell upon impact, allowing the duo to ran right past him and through the door. 

“Quick, lock them in,” River said, motioning toward the door’s lock system. 

The Doctor worked hastily, but gave up when she saw the Judoon round the last corner, and instead grabbed the sonic screwdriver in her pocket and soniced the panel from there, trying to make it look like she had hacked it by hand. 

The door shut just in time for the Judoon to slam right into it, one right after the other, causing a loud thud that resonated throughout the hall. 

“There’s no way nobody heard that. We’ve got to keep moving or they’ll be on us in seconds,” remarked River. “Have everything you came for? Did you get the coordinates?”

The Doctor nodded, and once again, River grabbed her hand, leading her down the hallway opposite the one they had previously come from. 

“Where are we going now?” the Doctor panted, relishing each moment of contact. “I thought you had a vortex manipulator?”

“I do, but they’ve got an anti-teleportation field around the place, remember? The only way we’ll be able to go anywhere is by disabling it. I’ve done it dozens of times, but never with the Judoon around, and it’ll definitely be harder with two prisoners on the run...” she scowled. 

The two kept running, hand in hand, through the twist and turns of the maze-like prison whilst keeping in blindspots and almost running into oncoming Judoon several times. There was even one occasion where they turned the corner and nearly collided right into a small team of them, but lucky for them, they had their backs turned and didn’t even notice over the sound of their own footsteps. 

Unfortunately for the group, they were standing in River’s way- something that puts even the most feral creatures in danger. She cleared her throat, calling their attention and held up her gun in a threatening yet protective stance, shielding the Doctor from anything the Judoon might throw their way. 

The Doctor couldn’t help but be both amazed at her wife and angry that she would put herself in harm’s way like that. Nevertheless, she watched with wide eyes as River shot down all four Judoon in seconds, sweat dripping from her forehead. 

She turned back to Jane, who found something so attractive about her wife standing there, panting and full of adrenaline from the rush of battle, looking as determined as ever with a smirk on her face. 

Both women were breathless for completely different reasons. 

“Jane? Are you alright?”

Apparently she’d been staring for too long. She nodded her head, unable to get any words out. 

“Right then! We’re almost there, just another cell block or two. We’d better keep moving. They’ll have heard that too,” she then sprinted down the hallway once more, the Doctor right behind her, a little upset that she hadn’t grabbed her hand again. This time, they just ran, not even worrying about blind spots. 

Finally, they came upon a heavy door, protected not only by a computer system, but also an entire squadron of Judoon, twelve at least, waiting for them. 

They’d only seen River so far, the Doctor was still a few feet behind her, barely able to keep up with her short legs. It was times like these that she missed her Tenth form. 

River glanced at her quickly, nodding her head in the direction of the computer before running toward the Judoon, guns blazing, leading them away from the console. 

The Doctor ran over and took her sonic screwdriver from her coat, just as she did earlier, knowing that River would be too distracted to notice when she used it in the console. Cleverly, she only got the door to open just enough for her and River to slip though, but not big enough for the hulking Judoon to follow. 

She turned to her partner in crime and whistled, gesturing to the open door. River slid between two Judoon, jumping back up, catching herself, and continuing to run in one fluid, impressive motion. She slipped through easily, pulling the Doctor in behind her, the two of them leaving their pursuers behind. 

They ran straight into a room of about a dozen technicians and security monitors, causing River to raise her gun, shaking all of them to their core. 

“Hello everyone! Great to see you all again!” said River, slowly strutting down the aisle and toward the main console at the front of the room, gun still held up. 

“If you all don’t mind, I’m just going to lower the field, just for a moment! See, my friend here was taken by your friends, the Judoon in quite a disgraceful manner. And look at her! She’s no threat! I mean, what could a a scrawny little nobody like her do?”

“Oi!” yelled the Doctor. 

River turned back to her and winked flirtatiously before continuing:

“Why, they didn’t even read her her charges, and we can’t tolerate that, now can we?” 

In response, a group of armed non-Judoon guards, the previous soldiers of the facility, the Doctor presumed, burst into the room, weapons pointed at the duo. The Doctor quickly put her hands up but River merely grinned. 

“Oh! What a surprise! Marvin, how lovely to see you!” she shouted randomly, only beginning her next bluff. 

“As I was just telling all of these wonderful people, my friend here is wanted by the Judoon, but they won’t tell her why. My, they just took her, like they take everything. Don’t they?”

The Doctor caught on to what she was trying to do. She wanted to turn the situation away from them and toward the Judoon, the very people who took them from their usual jones and degraded them. The guards began lowering their weapons, River’s enticing voice and attractive words luring them right where she wanted them. 

“It’d be a shame for them to get their hands on her again. Just one more win for them. Oh! I have the most marvelous idea! Why don’t you just let us take down the anti-teleportation field! That way, we’d get away and the Judoon get taken down a peg or two, eh?”

This seemed to be working up until the last part, when the guards raised their weapons once more. 

River sighed dramatically, clearly expecting this. 

“Fine, fine, fine,” she waved her arms around, lowering her weapon just a bit. “I’ll go back to my cell, BUT you have to let her go. Understood?”

No one in the room said anything, the air filled with an impatient silence, bar the sound of angry Judoon attempting to pry the door open unsuccessfully. 

“OR,” continued River, “I shoot whoever I bloody want, the two of us get away, and you don’t get the credit for returning one of Stormcage’s most dangerous criminals. What shall it be, boys? One inmate or two?”

The guards lowered their guns and the employees backed away from their desks, showing no sign of interfering. 

River smirked. “Good choice.”

River handed the gun to the Doctor, an unpleasant gift in her eyes, and began typing away at the computer. 

The Doctor couldn’t help but be amazed. River had just gotten them out of a roomful of armed guards without shooting a single shot. She has just saved the Doctor. Again. It’s funny, isn’t it. She was in this place for killing the Doctor back in Utah, a crime she technically didn’t commit, and yet she had saved her more times than she could count. The Doctor couldn’t help but wonder what she had done to deserve her. 

Seconds later, River leaned back up, taking back her gun and slipping off her vortex manipulator. 

“Here you go, love,” she strapped it to the Doctor’s forearm. 

“Thank you…” the Doctor breathed, still amazed at what she had just witnessed. 

She turned and typed in the coordinates of her TARDIS, a bit disappointed that her reunion with the woman she loves more than the stars themselves was cut short. Desperate for more time, the Doctor turned back to her, a question on her lips. 

“Before I go… I have to ask… Why did you help me? I’m just a stranger,” inquired the Doctor. 

River’s expression seemed to change on the word ‘stranger.’ She looked… disappointed. It only lasted for a millisecond though, before she stood there for a moment, thinking of something to say. 

“I like you Jane. You remind me of my husband.”

It took the Doctor every ounce of restraint she had not to cry out in that moment. How she longed for her wife to recognize her, but she knew that it couldn’t happen.

Instead she smiled a weak, painful smile. 

“He’s a pretty lucky man.”

Without another word or a second glance, the Doctor hit the final button on her vortex manipulator. The last thing she saw before she disappeared was a stunned River, with tears in her eyes. 

The Doctor arrived back in her beloved Ghost Monument and immediately collapsed, unable to hold back the tears for another second. The TARDIS boomed worriedly, the only consolation for a broken Time Woman. Oh, how she wailed. It was a sound to shatter glass, to birth and kill stars, a sound to pierce the hearts of anyone who heard it with the utmost grief and sorrow. Her song. Her Song. 

—

The vortex manipulator miraculously found itself back in River Song’s cell the next week, a note attached:

Thank you. 

You were the only one who could see me. 

Goodbye, Sweetie.


	2. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alternate ending that doesn’t stick to canon but has SpaceWives fluff and a bit of angst!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This begins towards the end of the actual one shot, just as River gives 13 her vortex manipulator

“Before I go… I have to ask… Why did you help me? I’m just a stranger,” inquired the Doctor.

River’s expression seemed to change on the word ‘stranger.’ She looked… disappointed. It only lasted for a millisecond though, before she stood there for a moment, thinking of something to say.

“I like you Jane. You remind me of my husband.”

It took the Doctor every ounce of restraint she had not to cry out in that moment. How she longed for her wife to recognize her, but she knew that it couldn’t happen.

Instead she smiled a weak, painful smile.

“He’s a pretty lucky man.”

The Doctor’s finger hovered over the last button.

‘Why not tell River?’ she thought. Yes, it was believed that their last meeting would be on Darillium, but if that were true, then why did River meet her, or rather, him in the library? And why did their paths cross again when the Doctor had already been to Darillium? It didn’t make sense. Out of all of time and space, what were the chances that she would end up in the same prison as her wife at the same time she was there? And furthermore, what were the chances that River would happen to come across her cell in the nick of time on the way out? It was almost as if the universe wanted them to be together. Like it was fate.

In a split second decision, the Doctor pulled River to her and then hit the final button, transporting them out of Stormcage and into the TARDIS. Within seconds, the Doctor found herself being pushed against the console. Her glassy eyes met River’s glare.

“I knew it,” whispered River. “I knew it was you, Doctor, my Doctor-“

She was cut off by the Doctor’s lips meeting hers in a gentle yet passionate kiss, lasting for a few seconds before the Doctor pulled away for a moment, cupping River’s face with her hands as their foreheads rested against each other.

“God, I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

River pulled her head up to look into the Doctor’s eyes, only to find that the Doctor had shifted hers downward.

“How long has it been?” River asked.

No response.

“Doctor, how long has it been for you?”

The Doctor looked up, exposing her weeping eyes to look into her wife’s young ones. She was still so young.

“Too long,” she cried.

“Oh, Doctor…” she pulled her in, this time to simply hold her as she cried into her shoulder.

They’d lost track of how long they stayed that way, River consoling her crying wife, before a comment about how huggable her new body was changed the course of the conversation.

The Doctor- albeit reluctantly- pulled away from her wife.

“Do you like it?” she excitedly did a little spin, causing her wife to giggle.

“Oh yes,” she laughed. “But then again,” the look in her eyes became mischievous as she leaned toward her wife, “I haven't seen much.”

The Doctor blushed furiously, stumbling over the console and accidentally activating the custard creams dispenser.

River’s eyes darted between her wife and the pastry.

“You didn’t…”

“Of course I did!” she grabbed the custard cream and began eating it, continuing to speak with a full mouth. “Goodness it’s like you don’t even know me!” she joked, swallowing the pastry. However, the reality of the statement sparked the unwelcome melancholy from before to return.

“Doctor…”

“No, River, you don’t have to say anything. I know this isn’t a face you’re used to, and I’ve changed in the last who- knows- how- many years since I last saw you, but I’m still the Doctor.” She reached over to her wife and grabbed both of her hands, placing them over her hearts. “Your Doctor.”

River kissed her tenderly- a sign of acceptance.

“Oh, Sweetie,” she began. The Doctor let out a small gasp, realizing this was the first time she had heard her wife use the nickname in a long time. “I never doubted that for a second.”

The Doctor couldn’t help herself, she flung herself at her wife in the most joyous kiss, her arms wrapping around her neck as River rubbed away the Doctor’s tears, taking all of the frustration and grief she had been feeling for the last few years with them.

They separated for a moment, long enough for River to realize something.

“Sweetie, I do believe I’m taller than you,” she chuckled, her luxuriant hair bouncing with her.

“What?!” the Doctor yelped. She was right. She found herself gazing up into River’s eyes instead of down. To double check, she pat down her wife’s ginormous hair and compared her height to her own. “Aw…”

“It’s alright, my love. Tell you what, to cheer you up, I’ll let you pick where we get to go.” The pair pace their way over to the console.

This seemed to cheer the shorter woman up, a grin replacing her pout. “Really?”

“Really,” River smiled back.

“And I get to drive?” She excitedly began to reach over to one of the many levers.

“Absolutely not.” She shot her a pointed look, forcing the Doctor to back away from the console.

“Riverrrr,” she groaned, holding the ‘r’.

“You always leave the breaks on! Poor girl…” She lay a hand in the console, the TARDIS responding happily to River’s presence. The TARDIS had missed her child. 

“Fine,” the Doctor puffed. “I’ve got some friends I’d like you to meet!” A huge smile spread on her face as she thought about introducing her wife to her new friends. She chuckled, thinking about how they’d react. That would take a lot of explaining.

Caught up in her anticipation, she pushed past her wife and pulled a lever, sending the TARDIS into motion.

The Doctor and her wife in the TARDIS. Next stop: everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading ‘See Me’! It means so much to me and I hope to see you all again soon, whether it be you reading more of my works or me reading some of yours 💕


End file.
